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The COVID-19 outbreak has been the biggest crisis faced by China and the world in 2020, and it will take great wisdom to overcome the complicated challenges it brings.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Communist Party of China Central Committee, with Xi Jinping at the core, has coordinated the overall domestic and international response to the situation and put forward China’s solution to the crisis.
When the outbreak first struck, China was entering the final year of its 13th Five-Year Plan for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Facing a virus never before seen in human history, the CPC Central Committee quickly formulated comprehensive scientific strategies to deal with this urgent and complex situation, and initiated a war of the people against the virus.
China’s successful approach to dealing with the epidemic situation lies in the unified leadership of its government. On Jan. 23, Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province and former epicenter of the epidemic, made a resolute announcement stating that public transportation in the city would be suspended in order to combat the spread of the virus. China then completed construction of the Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital just 10 days after the idea was put forward.
Furthermore, a total of 42,600 medical workers from across the country were dispatched to assist Wuhan, and 16 public facilities were turned into temporary hospitals in the city.
China is committed to both epidemic prevention and economic development. After the epidemic began, China went all out to save lives and at the same time worked hard to coordinate epidemic prevention and economic social development.
Placing the top priority on life was the foundation of China’s values in the battle against the epidemic. The CPC has always advocated being “people-oriented”. China has spared no effort in treating patients, regardless of their age or wealth. As of May 22, more than 3,600 patients aged 80 years or older were successfully cured in Hubei province, and the success rate in the treatment of patients aged about 80 years old was nearly 70 percent in Wuhan.
According to the National Healthcare Security Administration, the average total cost of treating a hospital patient with COVID-19 was 21,500 yuan (about $3,038). For severe cases, the average minimum cost was 150,000 yuan. All expenses were covered by the country’s healthcare insurance system and government funds.
Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons against the disease, said an article by President Xi Jinping on global solidarity and cooperation in battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
While taking good care of its citizens at home, China has also provided assistance to nations severely affected by the pandemic. By May, China had shared a set of technical documents, such as its latest versions of diagnosis and treatment plans, with 180 countries and more than 10 international and regional organizations worldwide, dispatched medical experts to countries with emergency needs, and provided emergency assistance to nearly 150 countries and four international organizations.
The COVID-19 epidemic has once again proven that mankind is a community with a shared future. The Chinese solution, which transcends the zero-sum or law of the jungle mentality, is an embodiment of Chinese wisdom. Moreover, faced with this epidemic, it is China’s responsibility to stand together with other countries and help each other.
People’s Daily.com